Pci Compliance
Posted by Wolf on March 9, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
asked:
Archive for the ‘identity fraud prevention’ Category
Preventing Medical ID Theft – Are You at Risk of Becoming a Victim?
Posted by Wolf on March 9, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
Linda K. Vincent asked:
Preventing medical ID theft has become a hot topic as Americans increasingly hear about the safety of their private medical records as more medical breeches continue to be discovered. Medical ID theft happens when a person uses someone’s identity to obtain medical services or steal money by falsifying claims for medical services. Identity thieves use a person’s Social Security number, insurance information, or other forms of identification to commit the medical ID theft.
Medical ID theft can have a devastating effect on victims, causing collections issues, credit problems, and even bankruptcy. But that’s not all. The type of medical treatment obtained by the identity thief can also prevent the victim from getting medical insurance or medical services themselves because, as far as the insurance company is concerned, the victim now has a “pre-existing” condition.
According to the FTC, medical ID theft accounts for three percent of all ID theft cases, or approximately 250,000 cases per year. Unfortunately, these medical ID theft statistics are expected to grow, especially with the shift to electronic medical records.
Preventing Medical ID Theft: The Unemployed and Uninsured
Due to their difficult circumstances, some groups are at a higher risk for becoming identity thieves. The unemployed and uninsured may use another person’s identity because of a belief that it’s the only way they can receive quality medical care. Since they’re unemployed, they don’t have access to an employer’s healthcare benefits, and they can’t afford to buy medical insurance because they don’t have a job. It’s a vicious cycle, and it can make good people do bad things.
Preventing Medical ID Theft: Illegal Immigration
Illegal immigration also poses a serious threat as medical ID theft continues to rise. When an illegal immigrant steals private information such as an individual’s Social Security number, he or she can obtain identification and numerous services reserved for legal residents. If precautions aren’t taken to prevent medical ID theft, an illegal immigrant can get a passport, driver’s license, bank account, credit card, loan, mortgage, insurance, medical treatment, and many other services.
Preventing Medical ID Theft in Five Steps
Begin preventing medical ID theft by following these five easy steps:
1. Have your Social Security number removed from your insurance records. If your Social Security number is currently on your insurance card, don’t carry your card with you. Keep it in a safe place and only carry a photocopy with all but the last four digits of your Social Security number blacked out.
2. Obtain copies of your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records. Lock them in a safe or safety deposit box, or place them on a CD or flash drive.
3. Next, regularly review your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records for suspicious entries, such as a medical treatment that was never performed on you.
4. Immediately address disputes on your explanation of benefits, bills for medical services you never received, or any other charges that could be sent to collections and damage your credit. These need to be investigated and removed from your records.
5. Don’t leave a paper trail. Destroying sensitive information you no longer need is another critical step in preventing medical ID theft, so shred claims that are more than seven years old. Also, ask if your provider’s office performs background checks employees to prevent medical ID theft rings and stolen medical information.
Preventing medical ID theft takes vigilance. Medical ID thieves are doing everything to stay one step ahead of you and the authorities, so use medical ID theft prevention strategies to protect your private information.
Preventing medical ID theft has become a hot topic as Americans increasingly hear about the safety of their private medical records as more medical breeches continue to be discovered. Medical ID theft happens when a person uses someone’s identity to obtain medical services or steal money by falsifying claims for medical services. Identity thieves use a person’s Social Security number, insurance information, or other forms of identification to commit the medical ID theft.
Medical ID theft can have a devastating effect on victims, causing collections issues, credit problems, and even bankruptcy. But that’s not all. The type of medical treatment obtained by the identity thief can also prevent the victim from getting medical insurance or medical services themselves because, as far as the insurance company is concerned, the victim now has a “pre-existing” condition.
According to the FTC, medical ID theft accounts for three percent of all ID theft cases, or approximately 250,000 cases per year. Unfortunately, these medical ID theft statistics are expected to grow, especially with the shift to electronic medical records.
Preventing Medical ID Theft: The Unemployed and Uninsured
Due to their difficult circumstances, some groups are at a higher risk for becoming identity thieves. The unemployed and uninsured may use another person’s identity because of a belief that it’s the only way they can receive quality medical care. Since they’re unemployed, they don’t have access to an employer’s healthcare benefits, and they can’t afford to buy medical insurance because they don’t have a job. It’s a vicious cycle, and it can make good people do bad things.
Preventing Medical ID Theft: Illegal Immigration
Illegal immigration also poses a serious threat as medical ID theft continues to rise. When an illegal immigrant steals private information such as an individual’s Social Security number, he or she can obtain identification and numerous services reserved for legal residents. If precautions aren’t taken to prevent medical ID theft, an illegal immigrant can get a passport, driver’s license, bank account, credit card, loan, mortgage, insurance, medical treatment, and many other services.
Preventing Medical ID Theft in Five Steps
Begin preventing medical ID theft by following these five easy steps:
1. Have your Social Security number removed from your insurance records. If your Social Security number is currently on your insurance card, don’t carry your card with you. Keep it in a safe place and only carry a photocopy with all but the last four digits of your Social Security number blacked out.
2. Obtain copies of your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records. Lock them in a safe or safety deposit box, or place them on a CD or flash drive.
3. Next, regularly review your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records for suspicious entries, such as a medical treatment that was never performed on you.
4. Immediately address disputes on your explanation of benefits, bills for medical services you never received, or any other charges that could be sent to collections and damage your credit. These need to be investigated and removed from your records.
5. Don’t leave a paper trail. Destroying sensitive information you no longer need is another critical step in preventing medical ID theft, so shred claims that are more than seven years old. Also, ask if your provider’s office performs background checks employees to prevent medical ID theft rings and stolen medical information.
Preventing medical ID theft takes vigilance. Medical ID thieves are doing everything to stay one step ahead of you and the authorities, so use medical ID theft prevention strategies to protect your private information.
Ghana, West Africa: the Fraud Zone
Posted by Wolf on March 5, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
asked:
Fraud Prevention Tips For Online Shopping
Posted by Wolf on March 3, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
Suzanne Bender asked:
Feeling a little nervous about doing your shopping online? Are you concerned over potential credit card fraud and identity theft? Here are some tips that will assist you in shopping wisely and protecting yourself:
1. Discuss the possibility of opening a low limit credit card with your bank or credit card company that you can use just for your purchases online. Doing so will allow you to have some peace of mind that should your information fall into the wrong hands, only a small amount of money will be compromised, as opposed to all of your funding.
2. Always check through your credit cards terms and conditions. Most crediting companies will not hold you responsible for any fraudulent charges on your account. Should you notice fraudulent charges on your account, contact the company with out delay. They will put a freeze on your account to prevent other purchases, then investigate and remove the fraudulent charges from your account balance. You will need to sign affidavits that state that the charges were criminally charged to your credit card account.
3. Always use your credit cards when shopping online as opposed to your debit card that draws straight from you bank account. Even though the money in the bank account is typically protected from any fraudulent charges, it can take a while for the banks to return the funds to your bank account. There is usually much more paper work involved, and in most cases you will have to sign affidavits. Having a drained bank account will only add to the stress that fraud creates. This is why using your debit card is not suggested.
4. You may want to think about using a service such as PayPal.com. When using PayPal for your online shopping you do not need to access any of your credit cards information. Once you have set up your account, and confirmed your credit card with PayPal, you only need to log into their system to confirm each purchase. This can greatly reduce any risk of fraud on your account, as companies you purchase from never see your card details. PayPal also has a great Buyer Protection policy that helps to protect you from any potentially fraudulent purchases.
5. Before giving out any private or personal info online (such as a credit card number), be sure that the connection you are using is secured in the address bar. The url that the shopping cart displays should start with “https”, as opposed to the normal “http”. The added ’s’ means that you are on a secured connection. Look for a small and yellow pad lock symbol that will be in the browser status bar at the bottom of the page. That little yellow pad lock also confirms a secured connection.
Online shopping can easily provide you with huge selections of goods and services – saving you a lot of money! Follow these tips and help keep your shopping experience pleasant, and safe.
Feeling a little nervous about doing your shopping online? Are you concerned over potential credit card fraud and identity theft? Here are some tips that will assist you in shopping wisely and protecting yourself:
1. Discuss the possibility of opening a low limit credit card with your bank or credit card company that you can use just for your purchases online. Doing so will allow you to have some peace of mind that should your information fall into the wrong hands, only a small amount of money will be compromised, as opposed to all of your funding.
2. Always check through your credit cards terms and conditions. Most crediting companies will not hold you responsible for any fraudulent charges on your account. Should you notice fraudulent charges on your account, contact the company with out delay. They will put a freeze on your account to prevent other purchases, then investigate and remove the fraudulent charges from your account balance. You will need to sign affidavits that state that the charges were criminally charged to your credit card account.
3. Always use your credit cards when shopping online as opposed to your debit card that draws straight from you bank account. Even though the money in the bank account is typically protected from any fraudulent charges, it can take a while for the banks to return the funds to your bank account. There is usually much more paper work involved, and in most cases you will have to sign affidavits. Having a drained bank account will only add to the stress that fraud creates. This is why using your debit card is not suggested.
4. You may want to think about using a service such as PayPal.com. When using PayPal for your online shopping you do not need to access any of your credit cards information. Once you have set up your account, and confirmed your credit card with PayPal, you only need to log into their system to confirm each purchase. This can greatly reduce any risk of fraud on your account, as companies you purchase from never see your card details. PayPal also has a great Buyer Protection policy that helps to protect you from any potentially fraudulent purchases.
5. Before giving out any private or personal info online (such as a credit card number), be sure that the connection you are using is secured in the address bar. The url that the shopping cart displays should start with “https”, as opposed to the normal “http”. The added ’s’ means that you are on a secured connection. Look for a small and yellow pad lock symbol that will be in the browser status bar at the bottom of the page. That little yellow pad lock also confirms a secured connection.
Online shopping can easily provide you with huge selections of goods and services – saving you a lot of money! Follow these tips and help keep your shopping experience pleasant, and safe.
A Retailer’s Guide to Credit Card Fraud Prevention
Posted by Wolf on March 2, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
Michael Russell asked:
Identity theft is one of the hottest topics around. But who are the real victims here? Of course consumers are affected the most. While consumers are usually not liable for fraudulent charges, it can take years to come back from identity theft and it’s no small task. Consumer victims may get hit with higher interest rates or even be denied credit. Credit card companies would have you believe they are the biggest victims. To a certain extent, that’s true. If you’re looking at pure numbers, they are losing the most money. But credit card companies are recouping their losses through higher interest rates and fees. And they also pass the buck to retailers who accept fraudulent credit cards. Credit card chargebacks can completely wipe out your profits. What can you do to protect your business and your profits?
The first thing your cashiers should look at is the front of the card. Most credit cards have holographic images on the front. Cashiers should also check to make sure the embossed numbers haven’t been altered. Fraudsters will sometimes use a clothes iron to remove some of the numbers and then emboss new numbers on the card. Then they’ll deface the magnetic strip so it won’t swipe. That forces the cashier to manually enter the numbers on the card. If the card won’t swipe for any reason, make sure your cashier gets an impression of the card and that the impression is legible. This will serve as proof that the card was physically present in case there is a chargeback. If your register does not automatically call for verification, make sure the cashier does.
The next thing a cashier should do is check the back of the card. The signature strip should have multiple colors and/or the name of the credit card company. Fraudsters have been known to remove a signature strip or cover it with Wite Out
Identity theft is one of the hottest topics around. But who are the real victims here? Of course consumers are affected the most. While consumers are usually not liable for fraudulent charges, it can take years to come back from identity theft and it’s no small task. Consumer victims may get hit with higher interest rates or even be denied credit. Credit card companies would have you believe they are the biggest victims. To a certain extent, that’s true. If you’re looking at pure numbers, they are losing the most money. But credit card companies are recouping their losses through higher interest rates and fees. And they also pass the buck to retailers who accept fraudulent credit cards. Credit card chargebacks can completely wipe out your profits. What can you do to protect your business and your profits?
The first thing your cashiers should look at is the front of the card. Most credit cards have holographic images on the front. Cashiers should also check to make sure the embossed numbers haven’t been altered. Fraudsters will sometimes use a clothes iron to remove some of the numbers and then emboss new numbers on the card. Then they’ll deface the magnetic strip so it won’t swipe. That forces the cashier to manually enter the numbers on the card. If the card won’t swipe for any reason, make sure your cashier gets an impression of the card and that the impression is legible. This will serve as proof that the card was physically present in case there is a chargeback. If your register does not automatically call for verification, make sure the cashier does.
The next thing a cashier should do is check the back of the card. The signature strip should have multiple colors and/or the name of the credit card company. Fraudsters have been known to remove a signature strip or cover it with Wite Out
Crime Prevention Specialist: 3 Things You Must Know or Do
Posted by Wolf on February 26, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
asked:
Lifelock Settles Lawsuit With Experian, Can No Longer Issue Fraud Alerts
Posted by Wolf on February 25, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
Allison Tomek asked:
The settlement of a lawsuit involving Lifelock Inc. includes an agreement that will bar the identity theft prevention company from using a service that it used to attract its first customers. The settlement capped a legal battle between Lifelock and credit reporting agency Experian, which began in 2008 when they alleged that Lifelock had broken provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) with its fraud alert service that had been one of the company’s selling points since its inception.
While details of the case remained confidential, Experian officials had reportedly grown concerned over the feature of Lifelock’s identity and fraud prevention services that charged users a fee to place warnings on their credit reports to help ward off potential breaches.
According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Experian argued that while consumers were free to put alerts on their credit reports with any of the three major credit reporting agencies – which consist of Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – a third party acting in their place was a violation of the FCRA, which monitors accuracy and fairness in credit reporting.
Experian noted that it was “pleased with the result of the settlement,” which it divulged had “permanently restrained” Lifelock to either directly or indirectly file alerts to any credit reporting agency on the behalf of its customers.
Lifelock CEO Todd Davis took the settlement in stride, telling the Arizona Republic that the service had not lost customers as a result of the ruling and adding that he believed the service had become stronger because of their need to find alternative means to detect fraud.
“The unintended consequence that Experian may not realize is we have a better service than we did before,” he said.
In August, Lifelock announced a new identity protection system based on ” scientific modeling and multi-point data mining to identify fraud and help protect consumers.”
The settlement of a lawsuit involving Lifelock Inc. includes an agreement that will bar the identity theft prevention company from using a service that it used to attract its first customers. The settlement capped a legal battle between Lifelock and credit reporting agency Experian, which began in 2008 when they alleged that Lifelock had broken provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) with its fraud alert service that had been one of the company’s selling points since its inception.
While details of the case remained confidential, Experian officials had reportedly grown concerned over the feature of Lifelock’s identity and fraud prevention services that charged users a fee to place warnings on their credit reports to help ward off potential breaches.
According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Experian argued that while consumers were free to put alerts on their credit reports with any of the three major credit reporting agencies – which consist of Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – a third party acting in their place was a violation of the FCRA, which monitors accuracy and fairness in credit reporting.
Experian noted that it was “pleased with the result of the settlement,” which it divulged had “permanently restrained” Lifelock to either directly or indirectly file alerts to any credit reporting agency on the behalf of its customers.
Lifelock CEO Todd Davis took the settlement in stride, telling the Arizona Republic that the service had not lost customers as a result of the ruling and adding that he believed the service had become stronger because of their need to find alternative means to detect fraud.
“The unintended consequence that Experian may not realize is we have a better service than we did before,” he said.
In August, Lifelock announced a new identity protection system based on ” scientific modeling and multi-point data mining to identify fraud and help protect consumers.”
Does it **** you off when your credit card company denies your card for kicks?
Posted by Wolf on February 24, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
Stephen asked:
At least this time it wasn’t as embarrassing as it has been in the past — instead of taking clients out for lunch and being denied, I was denied in the comfort of my own home while placing an online order. In all cases, I call the credit card company and they inform me that my credit line (of which I’m using less than 5%) is still in tact and I’m current on payments, but they just wanted to “verify that it was actually me using the card”. After I answer a handful of questions that do nothing to prove my identity, but confirm what they want to hear, the ban is lifted and I can replace my order without incident.
At least this time it wasn’t as embarrassing as it has been in the past — instead of taking clients out for lunch and being denied, I was denied in the comfort of my own home while placing an online order. In all cases, I call the credit card company and they inform me that my credit line (of which I’m using less than 5%) is still in tact and I’m current on payments, but they just wanted to “verify that it was actually me using the card”. After I answer a handful of questions that do nothing to prove my identity, but confirm what they want to hear, the ban is lifted and I can replace my order without incident.
I’m all for better fraud prevention methods, but this system of randomly blocking/denying customers cards is really pathetic. If they’re going to try and do anything that remotely resembles a solution to the problem, they’re going to need to invest in smart cards with a portal customers can use to approve/deny charges before hand. Of course for this to be secure, customers have to keep their computers free from spyware, virii, rootkits, etc., so obviously this isn’t a practical solution presently either.
How do you guys deal with the card companies doing this all the time? I used to only have this happen with my Bank of America card, but today’s card was Capital One– and it was only for a purchase of $360. I was paying nearly that much to fuel up my car just a few months ago….
bob k – you’re obviously a liberal who just relies on the government to feed you. i don’t need your irrelevant opinions — they don’t conform to reality.
Jeremy- yes capital one was my solution to BOA…looks like I need another one 
Fraud Prevention Tips For The Elderly
Posted by Wolf on February 22, 2010 under identity fraud prevention
asked: